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| A common pattern seen in the textile shops around Mai Châu. |
My first actual vacation in Vietnam was on Mayday, which as anyone who has lived in a formerly or currently communist or socialist country knows, is International Workers' Day (or: labor day). I've celebrated Mayday in Georgia (going to the amusement park in Kutaisi) and Hungary (pretty sure I stayed in my bed and ate frozen pizza) as well. We actually had two days off for this momentous occasion, my first national holiday since arriving during Tết and my last until September 4 (Independence day). So Lenna, another teacher at ILA and a good friend, her boyfriend Sam, and I decided to head up north to the mountains and rice farms for a night. I think we were all of the mind that anywhere that was quiet, green, and had good food would do. Although we had some bus issues, I think we would all agree that the Mai Châu district and Bản Lác 2, the village where we slept, was a pretty good choice.
We were lucky, we had two days of mostly beautiful weather. It rained heavily during the night and although we did get caught in it while out exploring the villages it actually ended being a welcome relief from the heat. The heat did factor into a minor ordeal we experienced on our second day in Mai Châu, but mostly it was great.
So we picked up our chartered bus at the travel agency in Old Quarter. It wasn't a grand Greyhound affair or anything, basically just a glorified mini-bus. It reminded of a very nice marshrutka, from my Georgia days. The bus dropped us off at a dusty crossroads. Thankfully we'd gotten the recommendation for our homestay from my old housemate Margaux, who gave us the phone number of our hostess. She came to meet us and led us to her house, which was at the end of a small dirt lane on which there were several other homestays and shops.
Our digs for the night! We slept upstairs, and we ate our meals and hung out in the evening/afternoon on the ground floor. The open air style makes a lot of sense considering the climate; the concrete floor in the shade of the second floor helps keep the first floor cool, and being up off the ground helps you catch a breeze at night. Plus, Xuan had fans and mosquito nets which kept things more or less comfortable.
Helpful infographic in our lady's house. Thank god she spoke English because her family and many of the surrounding villagers, she told me anyway, did not speak Vietnamese (of which we know only a little bit, anyway). Most people in our area were White Thai, at least according to Xuan, and speak Tai Dam, a language closer to Thai than Vietnamese although still apparently its own separate language.
Looking at the floor of the second floor of the house, roof of the open-air first floor. The floor was made from bamboo that has been cut open and flattened.
The mats laid over the bamboo floor, which made it, while still a little unnerving, a lot more comfortable to walk on.
Looking out at another house across the road from underneath the staircase, on the ground floor.
A good day for dogs to nap quietly in the shade.
Looking down the driveway towards the bathrooms/showers.
Looking across the street.
Welcome coffee! Much appreciated after a jostling 3ish hour bus ride up the mountains to get there.
Photos of Xuan's many visitors and experiences over the years. This was up in the sleeping area of the house. Really cool to look at.
Our accommodations!
I confess I was a little unnerved at first being able to see what our hosts were doing on the ground floor, through the floor. But bamboo is strong, guys. Super strong.
After we settled in we got some lunch from our hostess. A very big omelette, white rice, a plate of chicken, and sauteed morning glory. Simple but delicious, and it fortified us for the late afternoon bike ride to come!
This very expressive rooster joined us for lunch. On our way to get the bikes (from a house just down the road) we happened upon a new mother and her puppies chilling in the dirt, trying to keep cool and hide from the afternoon sun.
Obviously I took 5 million pictures.
As we set out on our bikes we encountered a roaming herd of cows, not in any real rush to be on one side of the road or the other, but rather just sort of mosey along in the middle of it. Again, reminded me of my Satsulukidzeo days.
When we were renting our bikes I noticed that Xuan was suiting up in the traditional Viet hat, nón lá, and a jacket to protect her skin from the sun. I didn't think anything of it until she grabbed a bike at which point I realized that she was accompanying us on this trip! This turned out to be great for us as she was able to tell us a little bit about the surrounding villages and farms and also guide us through the off-roading parts where we very well might have gotten lost on our own.
Emerald fields of rice.
Xuan riding ahead, tired of waiting for us to take our many, many pictures of the incredibly beautiful sights.
Sorry, girl! No way was I not stopping to document that.
Lenna, getting her fabric shopping game on.
More local textile shops.
I asked Lenna to grab this picture of me because I wanted to be part of but not the focus of this amazing sight. Riding through the fields was maybe my favorite part of this day, there was this strange cool breeze some off of the rice and these tiny paths were like a little balancing act for your bike tires. But there was green in every direction we looked and the mountains darkened from the same green at their bases to these deep, dark peaks far away and above our heads. It was stunning.
Afterwards we relaxed for a bit, then set out towards the bonfire and throbbing bass line to see what the youths of Ban Lac were up to.
A hopeful textile shop across the road that stayed open, lest someone decide they were in need of some late-night cloth/clothing shopping.
There was some kind of festival/party going on and here you can see some of the games these kids were playing. I can't say I fully remember how they worked or that I ever necessarily understood but everyone seemed to be having a pretty good time and they were fun to watch.
After we watched the games for a while we headed back to our homestay. On the road home we found this house where traditional Tai Dam dancers were giving a performance. We stayed and watched that for a while as well.
Thanks Google/Blogger, for taking all my photos and making a gif for me! I don't really know how that works but it's pretty cool.
Dance of the Tribbles. Kidding! I don't really know the names of these clothes or the dances, the best I can do is that Wikipedia says they have the "xoe" dance. I don't know more, sorry! They were very graceful and beautiful to watch, though. I did have to wonder about the women dancing around while wearing all that velvet. Must have been hot.
Later that night we had another feast and Xuan's family shared some of their honeycomb rice wine with us. It was surprisingly smooth and pretty damn good.
"It has special tasting. It is also has found to be useful with improving resistance, virility, diuretic, decrease weight, sedative, etc..."
A beetle Sam discovered wandering around our house.
Mosquito net view, bedtime.
And the next morning.
Breakfast was scrambled eggs, a block of bread, the customary chili sauce, and a small family of baby bananas.
Beyond adorable.
Lenna, the space-age daydream!
For our morning/early afternoon we decided to rent some scooters so we could go a little farther out of the village. This turned out to be fraught with peril. First problem: I've never ridden a scooter before. It took probably 45 minutes-an hour of my just trying to keep the bike upright and going straight before I really started to relax and enjoy riding it. But out in the mountains is a good place to learn, and it did get easier as we went along.
Vietnamese flags lining the highway. Optional or mandatory, I cannot say.
After we'd ridden out for maybe an hour or so the road was starting to get sort of bad and we'd seen enough of the mountains so we decided to turn back to visit a few more shops in the surrounding villages before our bus arrived to take us back to Hanoi. That was when Sam's bike ran out of gas. Although when we'd rented the bikes the people had assured us the tanks were full and that we had enough gas for about a 2 hour trip we were well under 2 hours when Sam's bike (on which Lenna was riding) ceased to function. So he grabbed mine and headed back to the last town we'd passed through to try and purchase some more.
The cursed machine.
Thank GOD Lenna and I both had fans with us, as even standing on the side of the road in the heat it was incredibly hot out while we waited. Sam probably took about 20 minutes or so (although it felt like 6 hours) but he did return with gas and were able to continue on our way, thankfully.
We made our more circuit through some of the shops, where I noticed traditional patterns used for stuffed animals as well as traditionally dressed Barbies, a favorite phenomena of mine that I have also observed in Chile and Georgia. Maybe I should be collecting these traditional Barbies?? Anyway, after that we headed back to our homestay to relax again and eat some lunch before our bus came to pick us up. We weren't exactly clear on where that would be happening and it showed up late but in the end it did arrive, doorside, and although we got a late start and that bus's cooling system left something to be desired we did get back at a fairly reasonable hour, despite...
...heat...
...rough roads...
...treacherous mountain turns (not to keep flogging a dead horse, but again, memories of Georgia...)...
...on the flip side, stunning views...
....and a bus that broke down within the damn city limits. I'm still not exactly sure what happened, it seemed like it was a flat tired or something that was happening under the bus. But you can imagine that after our technical difficulties with the motorbikes earlier that morning, waiting an extra hour and change for the damn bus to even show up, and having to stop at some random roadside shack so the drivers could have some tea (I am willing myself to believe it was tea and not beer), we were... underwhelmed.
An exciting end to an exciting retreat from the madness of Hanoi. It was much needed. I wish I could say it was enough to keep me totally sane between May and September, when I took my first actual vacation from work and relaxed for more than one day at a time, but I'm not making any promises. In any case, Lenna and Sam were great traveling companions, Xuan was a sweetheart and her place/food was lovely, and Mai Châu was beautiful.
